Abs are made in the kitchen?

I think the main focus of this statement is that you are never going to SEE your abs if they are covered in a layer of fat. You can HAVE strong abdominals from exercise but to SEE them you have to have your diet in line as well (calories in vs. calories out) to get the fat off of them. A lot of people will say that you have to be eating or avoiding certain foods as well but I do not have any personal knowledge of the veracity of that idea as my abs are currently still in hiding. :-)

I've always been told "You can't outwork a bad diet"

Abs are MADE in the gym.

Abs are REVEALED in the kitchen.

Overall health and "fitness" is 80% nutrition, 10% exercise, and 10% genetics. What you eat makes a HUGE difference in what you look like and feel like. True, you're not going to get the 'ideal' physique with just diet alone, but if you put nutrition on the back-burner and think you can get by with just relying on exercise, think again!

Well, I know as a teenager and into my early 20s, it didn't matter how low my body fat was (and I was really skinny) the only thing that showed was ribs. But I didn't exercise at all then.

Now, I have a higher BF%, but significantly more muscle (my lean body mass now is about the same as my total body weight was then), and I have some visible definition. Not a 6-pack, but definition.

So I don't buy the "everyone has abs, you just need to reveal them" thing. I mean... obviously I HAD abdominal muscles, but they were too small and undefined to be detectible.

Abs are MADE in the gym.

Abs are REVEALED in the kitchen.

Haha I love you! I was scrolling through this thread and thinking, " I know what I would do in the kitchen" then saw this.

Definately true. When I was at my lowest, I had a 6 pack despite not doing any real ab exercises (I focused on mainly legs and chest muscles) and still being a bit chubby. To be honest, I hated having it because I don't like the way it looks on my body. I've made peace with the fact that I have to have one if I don't want to be fat though, so I should see it again soon!

Is the above true? I mean no matter how hard you work out is it true you would need to get your food in line to get true definition?

You cannot out-train a bad diet. Doesn't matter how many hours per week you spend on your abs, if you eat like a fat kid at a birthday party, you'll never uncover the layer of fat exposing your abs.

Yep!

Is the above true? I mean no matter how hard you work out is it true you would need to get your food in line to get true definition?

yes and no, you need to be in a deficit to lose the fat, and get enough protein to ensure you are losing fat and not muscle, but what you eat doesn't matter it all comes down to macros and total caloric intake.

What that quote means is that if you eat at a surplus, no matter how much you workout, you will not get a six pack.

It's true that your abs won't show if you have a layer of fat over them, so yeah. I think achieving your ideal body (anywhere from healthy and toned to downright muscular, wherever you fall on that scale) is 90% eating and 10% exercise.

That being said, cardio exercises that put you in fat burning heart rate zones help that reveal along quite a bit.